Chapter 50: Damn rats!

"Home sweet home!" Josh enthusiastically greeted his place.

How many would be as excited about some old maintenance room in the sewers? Well, probably some mutated turtles and that was it!

Josh couldn't help but feel that he'd need to redecorate. Perhaps a little touch of personality? Maybe a door, a bed, or even one or two killer robots! you know, just the strict necessary for a young man living on his own.

Anyway, now was time for some training! The main issue with the rats was how fast and numerous they were. As soon as one was killed. another took its place instantly. They said the power of friendship was magic, in this case, it actually meant many many meatshields.

But Josh had a plan! He simply started training for hours without stopping, all until he was satisfied with his progress.

What was Josh even training in? Well, a peculiar movement technique. Actually, even that appellation was questionable.

All the while, he had Navi out, seeing it at work. It would lazily float next to him, giving out a soft glow. "Yeah, I truly can't use that thing for any sneak mission!"

Josh then headed straight for the Tower. Before long he was right in front of a sea of rats. Josh couldn't help but be curious.

"Tell me, Navi. What is the tactic suggested for this Floor?"

<One needs a full party. Any buff or ability that allows one to fight for long periods of time should be prioritized.>

Josh simply nodded before playfully saying "I came back for revenge little ones. Surprised to see me already?" Of course, the rats didn't give any specific reaction except to stare directly at him. They couldn't wait to devour him.

Josh had the Vine Necklace equipped. Out of his back popped four long vines that he controlled to hold his body in the air. He looked quite comical, but it would get the job done.

Then he propelled himself forward. He was cruising right atop the rat pack. The monsters kept jumping at him, too dumb to attack the vines directly. This was clearly a flaw in the Tower's Protocol. Well, not that Josh would complain about it.

Of course, all the jumpers died instantly, mercilessly sliced by his sword. Blood was raining from above, it would have been a sight to see for sure. 'I probably look like that one Octopus Villain right now haha.' he thought.

Josh first quickly killed the 7 Elite rats, he wanted to have the option to teleport out at any time later on in case he got overrun.

Soon Josh reached the Boss. <Alpha Rat Lv 18☠️ > It was entirely black and exuded savagery. As it saw him, it screeched angrily for none of the rats had managed to block Josh.

That is when the rat sea converged on Josh, apparently following their leader's orders. It all looked like a giant tidal wave! One that was easily noticeable by its size, smell, and sound! It was as deadly as annoying!

Josh did the only sensible thing in such a situation. He jumped on the Boss's back! Then began an epic rodeo, Hell-Version! The creature was flailing around trying to get him off but without success. Josh was using his vines to hold himself steady in place.

Meanwhile, the small rats kept hopping aboard too and diving at Josh. The only saving grace was that individually the rats were pretty weak. Only so many could attack at once in such a precarious position.

The issue, however, was that Josh was already plenty busy with just surviving. He didn't have much time to actually inflict damage. Was he condemned to give up? That wasn't Josh's style, at all!

No, Josh gave up on his footing entirely, only relying on the vines themselves. Then he started violently kicking every of the Grey named mobs while slashing the Boss.

But that's when the creature did a movement so abrupt that the vines finally couldn't hold on anymore. It all snapped! Josh was sent forward with incredible momentum, akin to a projectile.

The scene in front of Josh's eyes would have been enough to give PTSD to a relatively valiant man. The rats had their maws fully opened while salivating observing the human above them.

Josh could see their paws moving excitingly and they even seemed to be fighting for the area where he would land. It even made him shiver, but not in fear, it was DISGUSTING!

How would Josh even land in such a place? Well, all he needed was one foothold that wasn't a bloodthirsty rat. Was such a thing possible? Yes, it was!

'E-Rank Alchemical Cauldron I choose you!' Dropping the cauldron on their head, Josh used it as a foothold and fought back! Countless rats were trying to devour him, but he remained steady!

Then came the furious Boss for round two. By now it had gashes on its back, but nothing too serious. Now, this previous fight was actually pretty short. Josh had mostly conserved his energy coming here thanks to the vines.

"Navi, what tactic is recommended here?" Josh inquired. <Retreat as fast as possible! This Boss should never be tackled alone!> "Well, hope they'll update you soon Navi. Cause right now I hate this idea!"

Josh simply decided to Try-hard. He started running, atop of the rats, crushing their heads under his talons. This required incredible focus, balance, balls of steel, and the ability to keep going no matter what.

The Boss tilted its head in confusion. It was probably the first time it was seeing its brethren used as mere springboards! For Josh, it was a race against time. Even for him, such intensity was impossible to maintain for a long duration.

Josh clashed with the Boss time and time again. Every time the human would slightly change direction at the very last second do doge.

How was Josh even changing direction in mid-air? Well, let's just say it was a good thing that Navi was an AI! Otherwise, it would have complained about getting repeatedly stepped on.

After a dozen minutes, Josh finally saw the Boss turn to light particles. The worst is he didn't even get a reward for it besides XP!

[Alternative Mission: Kill all of the Rats Solo!]

Josh couldn't help but glance resentfully at the new pop-up! This was clearly way beyond his current abilities. He couldn't do the bonus mission at all! There was only one thing left to do.

"Teleport out!"

As Josh came outside he heard his UW beeping.

-Dario the Dragon: Hey Josh, something came up. There is a new order from the top that affects all of the guilds of Metropolis C. See you at Draconic to talk about it!...